


The Sound of Silence

by wizardofahz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 16:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11763618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardofahz/pseuds/wizardofahz
Summary: “Why are you yelling at Agent Danvers?” Supergirl demands.“I’m trying to get her attention. What does it look like I’m doing?” Maggie responds, letting her exasperation bleed into her every word.Having felt Supergirl land, Alex has turned around and is coming their way.Kara turns towards Alex, so she can read her lips. “You didn’t tell her you’re deaf?”Alex shrugs as she approaches. “It didn’t come up.”





	The Sound of Silence

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Legends of Superflarrow Diversity Appreciation Week’s Disabilities Day. Signed conversations are italicized rather than bookended by quotation marks. Please note that even though American Sign Language (ASL) has a different syntax, which I picture the characters as actually using, I’ve written it as though it’s signed English. I figured it’d be easier for most people to read and understand that way, and I suck at ASL gloss.
> 
> Disclaimer: I’m not deaf. Everything I’ve written is based on my interactions with Deaf people, but I won’t pretend that it’s perfect. Please let me know if anything should be changed.

Kara pauses at the door to Alex’s lab.

Alex is hunched over a microscope, and though her hair hangs down around her face, hiding her ears from view, Kara doesn’t need to use her x-ray vision to see that she’s taken her hearing aids out. She sees part of one poking out from a stack of papers and assumes the other is somewhere in the chaos that is Alex’s lab bench. It’s a sign that Alex is in full focus mode. The hearing aids don’t help that much, but Kara knows that at times like this, Alex considers any amplification of noise an unnecessary distraction.

Alex has been deaf ever since she was three. Eliza and Jeremiah were doing a Doctors Without Borders type of thing with hidden alien refugee camps, and Alex had contracted an alien virus, falling extremely ill and ending up deaf as a result. Alex can speak and lip read, but the primary method of communication between her and Kara has always been sign language. Overwhelmed by her new super hearing after landing on Earth, Kara had often worn special ear plugs that Jeremiah had made to block out almost all sound. It only seemed natural that they communicate via sign language.

It still feels natural to this day.

When Alex finally emerges from the miniature world of the microscope slide, she notices Kara in the mirror above her lab bench and smiles as their eyes meet. 

_ Hi, _ Alex signs as she spins around. Hand still open, she touches the tip of her middle finger to her chest and then moves it up and away.  _ What’s up? _

Kara raises her eyebrows and moves a C-hand down her torso.  _ Hungry? _

_ I can eat,  _ Alex signs. 

She puts away her samples and places her hearing aids back on. Her hearing aids are an enhanced version of commercial products. They’re equipped with piezoelectric transducers that translate electrical signals into mechanical vibrations, so they can double as earpieces when she’s out in the field for the DEO.

Being deaf has never stopped Alex from doing anything she set her mind to: pursuing an MD/PhD, becoming a field agent, rising through the DEO ranks. It’s something she’s grateful for when Silver Banshee emerges and decides Kara Danvers and Supergirl are her enemies.

When Winn brings Siobhan Smythe into the DEO after she survives a fall off a building, Alex watches her carefully. She’s heard a lot about Siobhan from Kara, and Alex has a very low tolerance for anyone who tries to make her little sister’s life miserable. She likes the situation even less now that Siobhan has powers. It reminds Alex of the Fort Rozz prisoners and their vendetta against Kara’s family, so she also asks J’onn to keep an eye out.

That prudence pays off when Siobhan appears at CatCo despite having been fired.

Disguised as Supergirl, J’onn catches a disoriented Kara after she’s blasted out of the window by Siobhan’s scream and brings her back to the DEO.

“Let me handle her,” Alex says as they discuss strategies for dealing with the Silver Banshee. “I’m deaf. She can scream at me all she likes. It won’t make a difference.” 

_ You still having some hearing _ , Kara signs with a frown.

_ Barely. So I’ll hear a little bit of her scream. Doesn’t matter,  _ Alex signs back.

J’onn waves for Alex’s attention then says, “It does matter.” 

He faces her, so she can read his lips. J’onn also knows sign language, and if it had just been the three of them, he would sign too, but there are other DEO agents that are part of the discussion as well.

“Sir,” Vasquez says, bringing their attentions to the screens announcing the breaking news that Silver Banshee has kidnapped Cat Grant and is awaiting Supergirl at National City Park.

_ Alex, with me,  _ J’onn signs before turning his attention to Kara, who is now restless with nervous energy. “Wait here, Supergirl. Agent Danvers will go with you.”

In the privacy of J’onn’s office, he signs,  _ I don’t like this, but we don’t have time to design and create special earplugs for everyone. _

_ Don’t worry,  _ Alex reassures him. _ I’ll be fine. _

J’onn beckons Alex closer, and she steps forward knowing he’s going to create a telepathic bond. It’s not the same as when J’onn used to do it with other Martians, but it’s close. Already accustomed to nonverbal communication, Alex had taken to this new kind of communication like a fish to water. Sometimes they sign. Sometimes they communicate through a telepathic bond. It’s their way of sharing their worlds with each other. 

J’onn lets Alex feel how concerned he is, an incentive for her to not take unnecessary risks. Alex lets him feel how confident she is that nothing will go wrong.

_ Be careful,  _ J’onn signs when the bond breaks.

_ Always,  _ Alex signs back.

Before Kara flies them to National City Park, Alex makes sure Kara puts on her special earplugs. She knows Kara carries them with her everywhere in case she’s ever overstimulated and wants to block out all the noise.

As Alex predicted, Silver Banshee’s scream is ineffective against her. She certainly hears it but not in a way that hurts her. It’s actually kind of refreshing to hear something so clearly for once. She looks over to Kara and is relieved to see that the earplugs have done their job.

_ See?  _ Alex signs and grins at Kara.  _ All good. _

_ Yeah,  _ Kara agrees. _ And now it’s time to kick some ass. _

Between the two of them, disposing of Silver Banshee and freeing Cat Grant is light work.

 

* * *

 

Alex doesn’t think all that much about meeting Detective Maggie Sawyer. 

Alex has a few moments of difficulty in reading Detective Sawyer’s lips, but she gets the gist. It’s a basic jurisdictional pissing contest, and Alex sends her on her way. 

The next time they run into each other, this time in an abandoned warehouse, Alex once again doesn’t think much of it. She stops trying to read Detective Sawyer’s lips when she figures out she’s not going to get a straight answer on how the detective knew to come here and then redirects her attention to informing Winn that escapee isn’t there.

Alex starts paying more attention when Detective Sawyer brings her to the alien bar. She’s impressed when they get a clue as to where their missing escapee might be.

But then Detective Sawyer is taken, and Alex goes on a rampage to save her. 

As Alex is threatening their previous source, the bartender waves to get her attention and then points her in the direction of the foundry.

The bartender looks like a fairly normal African-American human woman, but Alex knows that looks can be deceiving. That plus the fact that she seemed to know to wave to get Alex’s attention prompts her to ask, “Have we met before?”

“Maybe.” The bartender shrugs.

There’s something off about her response that Alex can’t quite put her finger on, but she needs to find Detective Sawyer, so she lets it go for the time being. 

(Later Alex will figure out that the bartender is M’gann, a Martian, a telepathic shape-shifter,  _ the  _ telepath who taught her how to speak.

Hearing children learn to speak by comparing the sounds they make to those they hear. Without audio feedback, deaf and hard-of-hearing children have to learn speaking as a purely mechanical process: visually observe the shapes people’s mouths make as they talk, physically feel the movements of someone else’s throat and try to replicate it themselves. It’s a terribly difficult process.

It’s one Alex didn’t have to undergo. 

When she was five and her parents were looking after yet another alien settlement, M’gann, in a different form, would sit down with Alex and let her hear and calibrate the sounds she was making through a telepathic bond.

When Alex thanks her, M’gann shrugs.

“I’ve seen what humans do to people who don’t fit in or are seen as less than. You didn’t deserve that.”)

Alex finds Detective Sawyer, and everything’s all well and good until the next crime scene.

“Danvers!” Maggie shouts behind the crime scene tape. 

Maggie had been called to a crime scene, but by the time she arrived, the DEO had taken over the crime scene and shut the NCPD out.

“Danvers, you asshole, if you keep ignoring me, I swear I will—” 

Her tirade is cut off as Supergirl suddenly lands right in front of her, and Maggie has to take a step back, so she doesn’t catch a chin in the eye.

“Why are you yelling at Agent Danvers?” Supergirl demands.

“I’m trying to get her attention. What does it look like I’m doing?” Maggie responds, letting her exasperation bleed into her every word.

Having felt Supergirl land, Alex has turned around and is coming their way. 

Kara turns towards Alex, so she can read her lips. “You didn’t tell her you’re deaf?”

Alex shrugs as she approaches. “It didn’t come up.”

“You’re deaf,” Maggie says, jaw dropping slightly as the realization hits her. “Oh my g—You’re wearing hearing aids. I thought you were weirdly attached to your job and had your earpiece on at all times.”

Alex’s hair typically covers her ears, but Maggie has caught a couple glimpses of her hearing aids. She just never realized what they actually were or what they meant.

Alex ends up letting Maggie work the case with her, and as the collaborations become more frequent, a friendship develops. 

They hang out in the alien bar, where Alex soundly defeats Maggie at every pool game, and commiserate over similar life experiences. They talk about being women in male heavy environments, and how they have to prove themselves again and again to be trusted. Alex tells Maggie about how many DEO field agents were reluctant to work with her on missions until her peripheral vision, better honed in the absence of sound, saved their lives.

One day when they’re going over evidence in Alex’s lab, Alex notices a movement in one her mirrors and turns to see Vasquez on the other side of the glass wall. To Maggie, it looks like they’re making Pacman motions with both hands.

“I have a meeting,” Alex says, “but feel free to stay here and keep going.”

“Vasquez signs?” Maggie asks. 

“Yeah, they’re my DEO interpreter for meetings and stuff. I had one for school before, but getting her DEO clearance was never going to happen. Anyway, I gotta go.” 

Alex lays a hand on her shoulder and then takes her leave.

Maggie soon finds that spending time with Alex means spending time with Kara, which naturally leads to realizing that Kara is Supergirl. Once that’s out in the open, both Danvers sisters seem more at ease. 

Kara even invites Maggie to a Danvers sisters’ night, which seems to catch Alex by surprise. There’s a lot of frantic signing that happens right in front of her. Maggie doesn’t understand any of it, but she finds it cute the way that Alex’s sign movements get bigger and bigger the more flustered she gets.

They have dinner in Kara’s loft before the tv show marathon starts, and Maggie gapes at the way Kara puts away three whole pizzas in a matter of minutes. 

Alex makes a K with her fingers and shakes it back-and-forth. 

“This is Kara’s name sign,” Alex says. Then she puts a hand to the right side of her mouth as if to block Kara from reading her lips. “It also a sign for kitchen, which works because Kara is always drawn to food. Any mention of the kitchen is bound to get Kara’s attention anyway.”

“Hey.” Kara waves her hand to get Alex’s attention, pretending to be annoyed. “I can hear you.” 

“Oh yeah,” Alex says without a hint of chagrin and actually looking rather pleased with herself.

After dinner they sit down on the couch, Alex sandwiched between Maggie and Kara, and start watching  _ The Americans _ . The closed captions are on, and the volume is so low Maggie can barely hear anything, but she doesn’t mind. 

They make it through an episode and a half before Alex jolts upright and pauses the video.

“Wait,” she says, turning to Maggie. “You’re hearing.”

Kara leans around Alex to also look at Maggie. “Oh yeah, you have normal hearing.”

“It’s okay,” Maggie says, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. “I don’t mind, really.”

But her words are unheaded as Alex shoves the remote into her hands and Kara reassures her that she doesn’t mind the volume being louder.

Maggie later learns that the night is Kara’s attempt at being a good wingman. She and Alex start dating not long afterwards.

As there is in every relationship. there’s the occasional misstep as they get to know each other. 

Maggie learns that Alex enjoys music, particularly feeling the beat, and Maggie doesn’t realize exactly what that means until she makes the mistake of turning on Alex’s stereo and jumps in shock as System of a Down’s “Chop Suey” blasts so, so very loudly in her face. Occasionally Maggie tries to show Alex a cute animal video, like of a husky “talking” like a human baby, that Kara sent her only to realize there’s a reason Kara sent it to Maggie and not Alex.

Maggie’s also come to realize that when Alex is having trouble reading her lips, she cocks her head slightly, turning her left ear, which is barely less hard of hearing than her right, towards Maggie. It happens less as Alex learns Maggie’s speech patterns.

Maggie tries to learn sign language, but sometimes it feels like she’s been thrown in the deep end.

When she accompanies Alex to a Deaf social at Noonan’s that’s held every Thursday evening, she’s quickly lost in the conversations and feels like she’s holding Alex back from socializing freely because she needs to be looked after.

There are websites where Maggie can look up the signs for words, but she’s having trouble with the syntax. She keeps trying to translate stuff as if it’s signed English.

“I want to learn sign language,” Maggie tells Kara after that. 

She talks to Kara about it instead of Alex because Alex barely remembers a time when she didn’t know sign language. Kara, on the other hand, learned it when she was thirteen and already had some ridiculous number of alien languages under her belt.

Kara tells her about book readings that are done at the local bookstore. Every other Saturday afternoon, the book readings are done in ASL, and when Kara can, she’ll drop by as Supergirl to read to the kids. 

“It might help ease you into it,” Kara says. 

Maggie agrees.

“But also,” Kara adds. “Tell Alex. Don’t be shy about it. Try signing with her instead of talking. That’s probably the fastest way to learn, and if you don’t know how to sign something, fingerspell it, or act it out like you’re playing charades.” 

So Maggie does tell Alex about it.

Alex pulls Maggie into a tight hug and whispers a thank you in her ear.

Maggie nearly responds with a verbal “you’re welcome”, but she quickly realizes that Alex can neither hear her nor read her lips at this angle. She settles on reciprocating Alex’s tight hug. 

_ Pizza tonight?  _ Maggie signs when they separate.

Alex grins, poking at Maggie’s eyebrows to remind her to raise them, before signing back, 

_ Of course. _


End file.
